Apparatus for separating liquid from solid matter.



H. G. GOLBURN. APPARATUSYFOR SEPARATING LIQUID FROM SOLID MATTER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 23, 1913.

Patented Sept. 29, 1914.

2 sums-sum 1.

INVENTOR. H 6. U0 war/7.

WITNESSES.- 64 v.

THE NORRIS PE7ERS ca, PIIOTOJJTHO WASHINGTON. r) c APPLICATION FILED JULY 23, 1913.

Patented Sept. 29, 1914.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

INVENTOR. H 6. Co/burn.

WITNESSES:

TTORNEY.

THE NORRIS PETERS 470., PHOTO-LITHO WASHINGTON u c.

HERBERT c. COLBURN, or vioTon, COLORADO.

APPARATUS non SEPARATING-LIQUID FROM sonrn MATTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 29, 1914.

Application filed July 23, 1913. Serial No. 780,677.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERBERT C. COLBURN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Victorpin the county of Teller and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatusfor Separating Liquid from Solid Matter, .of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to apparatus for separating liquid from solid matter and its primary object is to provide means where by the greater portion of liquid contained in the pulpy residue obtained in a process of treating metalliferous ores, is automatically separated from the solid matter before the latter is discharged from the apparatus used in the practice of such process.

While my inventionmay be appliedfor different purposes it is particularly adapted to separate liquid from the 'tailings discharged from a filtering apparatus used, in

by the cyanid process.

The discharge of very wet slimes from an apparatus of this character is objectionable for many reasons, principal among which is the difiiculty encountered in stacking the slimes on dumps, especially on hillsides, and the consequent flow of material into streams or onto other properties. y

In many mining districts the"discharge of tailings intostreams is prohibitedby law, in which case it has been necessary to build costly dams to retain the aqueous matter at the place at which it is deposited.

By separating the greater portion of the liquid from the solids before they are discharged from the filter, I effectively obviate the difficulty above-mentioned and at the same time save the liquid for further use, which is of great importance in case the ore is treated at a point remote from a source of water supply.

In proceedingin accordance with my in-.

vention I provide at the lower end of a tank in which the pulp is contained, a transport screw which by its rotary movement impels the material toward a discharge opening which is located beyond one of its ends and out of alinement with its axis of rotation. As a result of this arrangement the pulp is by the action of the conveyer compressed against a fixed abutment whereby the water is expressed from the pulp and retained in the tank, and the solids are in a compara- 3, drawn to an'enlarged scale. the treatment of finely slimed metallic ores I charged solids, their movement may be accelerated by the application of a jet of air,

steam or other fluid under pressure.

In the accompanying drawings in the va- ;rious views of which like parts are simillarly designated, Figure 1 represents a ti: longitudinal, fragmentary section through the discharge end of a tankjto which my l invention is applied, showing theadjacent I end ofthe screw oonveyerin elevation. Fig. 2, a horizontal section taken: along the line i 1 22, Fig. 1, Fig. 3, a plan viewlin outline of a filtering apparatus showing the method Referring first to Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings the reference character 2 designates a filtering apparatus ofthe Moore type which, briefly, consists'of a tank diinwhich the metallic pulp is successively treated in a cyanidsolutio'n by the forma tionof a vacuum in a series of hollowfilter -leaves to which the solids containedin the pulp, adheres tively dry condition delivered into the dis 7 of applying my invention thereto, and, Fig. +1, asection taken along the line 4:4, Fig.

vided into three compartments, 3, 4 and 5 A.

:In the last compartment 5 the cakes U formed exteriorly of the leaves are subjected to a final wash: after which they are dis lodged by the use of compressedair or water under pressure and discharged as tailings to be conveyed to the dump. It isto this last compartment of the tank that myinvention is applied for the purposes hereinabove specified.

The tank compartment 5 has at its lower end a longitudinal, trough shaped passage 6 toward which its sides converge, and exteriorly of the closed ends of the said passage, it is provided with bearings 7 for the support of the shaft 8 of a spiral screw-com veyer 9 which is rotatably disposed within the trough.

Stuffing boxes 10 applied at the ends of the trough through which the shaft extends, are provided to maintain a fluid-tight joint around the rotating part, and apulley 16 secured at an. end of the shaft, serves as a medium for its rotation by connection with a Suitable motive agent.

Atthe end of the trough, toward which the material contained in the compartment is impelled by the action of the conveyer, is a discharge spout 17 the orifice 12 of which is disposed beyond the end of the screw and out of alinement with its axis of rotation", to provide an abutment 13 against which the pulp impinges before it reaches the said orifice.

-The spout 17 extends in the same direction in which the pulp is moveclby means of the screw,- whereby the resistance to the outward flow of the solids is reduced to the minimum, and by tapering the spout from its orifice 12' to its opposite extremity as shown in Fig. 2 the pressure'on the slimes in the trough is increased to a considerable extent, anda greater-percentage of liquid is inconsequence" separated from the solids beforethey enter said orifice.

l/Vhile thev tapering spout may be made cylindrical or square in cross-sectiomit has in practice been found that the oblong crosssectional form of'the spout shown in the drawings is best adapted for the purpose of the' invention.

Iii casethe tailings discharged through the spout are to'be onveyed to a point re- Inote from the tank through a conduit which connects with the egress thereof, as shown at'l l in Figs. 1 and '2, a nozzle 15 is disposed in the said conduit in connection with a source of fluid under pressure, such as stean i or compressed air, to accelerate the flow of-materialand prevent the accumulatihn of matter in the tank by eliminating the back pressure due to the clogging of the passages and conduits through which the ore is conveyed.

In the operation of my invention the slimy substance which settles in the tank 5, enters the; trough 6 and is conveyed to the discharge end thereof by the continuous rotation of the transport screw. I'Vhen reaching the end of, the trough it forcibly impinges against the abutment 13 and is in consequence compressed with the result that the liquid contained in the pulp is forced rearwardly'with respect to the direction in which the material i's impelled by the action of the screw, and retained in the tank, while the solids enter the spout 17 through its orifice in a comparatively dry condition.

' Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters-Patent is:

1. In apparatus of the character described,

a transport screw, a passage in which said screw has a rotary movement to convey material to an end thereof, said passage having at the said end an outlet conduit and an abutment against which material conveyed by the screw, impinges before entering said conduit, and a nozzle for the injection of a fluid under pressure into the said conduit to accelerate the flow of said material.

2. In apparatus of the character described, a receptacle which at its bottom has an open trough to receive the lower portion of its contents, a transport screw rotatably mounted in the said trough, the said trough having at one of its ends a discharge opening placed out of alinement with the axis of rotation of the screw, and an abutment against which material conveyed by the screw impinges before it enters the said opening.

3. In apparatus of the character described, a receptacle the bottom of which consists of an open trough toward which its sides converge, a transport screw rotatably mounted in the said trough, the said trough having at one of its ends a discharge opening placed out of alinement with the aXis of rotation of the screw, and an abutment against which material conveyed by the screw impinges before it enters the said opening.

4. In apparatus of the class described, a receptacle having at its bottom an open trough to receive the'lower portion of its contents, and means for conveying material toward an end of the trough, the said trough having adjacent the said end, a discharge-opening and an abutment against which the conveyed material impinges be fore it passes through the said opening.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HERBERT C. COLBURN.

lVitne'sses:

E. A. OoLBURN, BERTHA L. GORICH.

Ctiifie df tlfls patient may be obtained for five cents each, by' addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. O. 

